Method and apparatus for authorizing reception of media programs on a secondary receiver based upon reception of the media program by a primary receiver

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus, and system for authorizing reception of one or more media programs of a content provider by a secondary receiver based upon reception of the media program by a primary receiver is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of receiving location data from the secondary receiver, initiating authorized reception of a transmitted first media program having audio content of the one or more media programs by the primary receiver, receiving the audio content of the media program reproduced by the primary receiver from the secondary receiver, and authorizing reception of the one or more programs of the content provider by the secondary receiver according to the received location data and a comparison of the received audio content of the media program and the audio content of the transmitted first media program.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/150,771, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTHORIZING RECEPTIONOF MEDIA PROGRAMS ON A SECONDARY RECEIVER BASED UPON RECEPTION OF THEMEDIA PROGRAM BY A PRIMARY RECEIVER,” by Hernan Lopez et al., filed Apr.21, 2015, which application is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to systems and methods for authorizingdevices to playback media programs, and in particular to a system andmethod for authorizing secondary devices to receive media programs basedupon reception of the media program by a primary receiver.

2. Description of the Related Art

The delivery of media programs to consumers has traditionally involvedthe direct broadcast of those media programs to viewers' homes.Initially, these broadcasts were to local markets, using terrestrialtransmitters and reception equipment built in to commercially availabletelevision receivers. Later, transmission of media programs via cable tospecialized equipment installed in viewers' homes was introduced. Stilllater, signal transmission was accomplished via satellite transmission,again with specialized equipment installed in the viewers' homes. Boththe cable and satellite transmission of media programs are typicallymade to subscribing viewers, who pay a fee for such services. The cableand satellite providers (hereafter generally referred to as serviceproviders) typically acquire rights to broadcast media programs fromcontent providers who have either originated or produced the mediaprograms, or have contracted for the rights to provide such mediaprograms from others.

In recent years, there has been a trend towards the transmission andreception (transception) of media programs via the Internet, withreception being accomplished using general purpose processors andequipment such as desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.Such Internet transception may be wired or wireless.

Increasingly, viewers would like the option of viewing media programsavailable as a part of their service provider subscription in remotelocations. For example, a viewer may wish to view their favorite mediaprogram via a smartphone at a location remote from their home, where thespecialized reception equipment may be installed.

This can be accomplished by downloading, installing, and executing aservice provider smartphone application on the viewer's smartphone, andreceiving the media program in the smartphone via Internet transception.This may be implemented in two paradigms. In the first paradigm theservice provider provides an application to be installed on the viewer'ssmartphone. The viewer provides information regarding their identity tothe service provider, selects the media program they wish to view on thesmartphone, and the media program that the service provider obtains fromthe content provider is transmitted to the viewer's smartphone by theservice provider, for reproduction within the service provider'sapplication.

In a second paradigm, the content provider provides the application tobe installed on the viewer's smartphone. Since the viewer is not knownto be a subscriber to the content provider's content, the viewer isprompted, via the smartphone application, to enter which serviceprovider the viewer subscribes to, and the user's service providercredentials. The content provider uses these credentials to verify thatthe viewer is entitled (by virtue of their subscription with the serviceprovider) to receive the requested content, thus permitting thereception of the content via the smartphone as well as the viewer'stelevision set to be authorized.

Unfortunately, with either paradigm, the viewer may not possess theinformation (e.g. login credentials for the service provider) at theirfingertips. Further, even if the viewer is a subscriber of a service,the viewer must typically create a user account with the serviceprovider, to get such logon credentials. Although this requirement isstraightforward, it prevents many possible viewers from remotelyobtaining content.

What is needed is an apparatus and method for authorizing reception ofmedia programs from content providers that is simple, easy to execute,yet reasonably secure. The following disclosure describes such anapparatus and method.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address the requirements described above, the present inventiondiscloses a method, apparatus, and system for authorizing reception ofone or more media programs of a content provider by a secondary receiverbased upon reception of the media program by a primary receiver. In oneembodiment, the method comprises the steps of receiving location datafrom the secondary receiver, initiating authorized reception of atransmitted first media program having audio content of the one or moremedia programs by the primary receiver, receiving the audio content ofthe media program reproduced by the primary receiver from the secondaryreceiver, and authorizing reception of the one or more programs of thecontent provider by the secondary receiver according to the receivedlocation data and a comparison of the received audio content of themedia program and the audio content of the transmitted first mediaprogram. In another embodiment, the apparatus comprises a processorhaving a memory storing processor instructions for performing theforegoing operations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary content distribution system;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating exemplary operations that canbe performed to use the previous authorization of a primary receiver toreceive media programs to conveniently authorize a secondary receiver toreceive the media programs based on the same user subscription;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a progression of auser interface presented by one or more screens on a display deviceintegrated with or comprised with the secondary receiver;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system that could be usedto implement elements of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system that can be used toimplement the secondary receiver; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system that could be usedto implement elements of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof, and which is shown, by way ofillustration, several embodiments of the present invention. It isunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Described below is a system and method in which the audio portion ofcontent being transmitted on an authorized channel and received on apreviously authorized primary receiver is used to authenticate a secondreceiver. When the user wishes to authenticate the second receiver usingaudio authentication, they are instructed to tune their primary receiverto an authorization channel. The secondary receiver then senses theaudio reproduced by the primary receiver, and this sensed audio used toauthenticate or validate the second receiver.

Content Distribution System

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary content distribution system (CDS)100. The CDS 100 comprises one or more content providers 102,communicatively coupled with one or more service providers 104. Contentproviders 102 generate or arrange for the provision of media programsthat are ultimately provided for consumption (e.g. viewing) bysubscribers or users 112. Examples of content providers 102 includetraditional “network” broadcasters such as FOX, ABC, CBS, and NBC,non-traditional content providers such as HBO and THE DISCOVERY CHANNELand THE WEATHER CHANNEL. The content providers 102 typically providemedia programs and other content to one or more service providers 104for a fee. The service provider(s) 104 accept the media programs fromthe content providers 102 and transmit the media programs for viewing byuser subscribers 112, also typically for a fee. Traditionally, suchtransmission is via cable (copper or optical) transmission 114 orwireless (terrestrial 116, or satellite 109) transmission. Alsotypically, such transmissions were received by specialized equipment inthe subscriber's home or business. Such specialized equipment caninclude a set-top box (STB) or integrated receiver/decoder (IRD), and ifthe transmissions are wireless, an appropriate antenna such as asatellite dish or outdoor antenna. Such specialized equipment isalternatively referred to hereinafter as a receiver 106. Suchtransmissions can also be received via the Internet 118. This may beaccomplished by a receiver 106 having suitable processing and software(e.g. a web-browser) or other functionality, such as a smartphone, orcomputer system as described further below.

“Media program(s),” as referred to herein, refer to media content suchas audiovisual works. This includes movies, television shows, episodesof a series of television shows, even audio content such as music, whichis commonly available from some service providers 104 on specificgenre-related channels (e.g. rock, blues, pop, rap) with minimal or novideo (image) content.

A subscribing user 112 may have more than one receiver 106 by which theywould like to receive media programs. This not only includes multipleSTBs or similar devices in the user's home or business, but also mobileprocessing devices such as a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop orsimilar device. In an illustrative embodiment, a primary receiver 106Acomprises an STB, desktop computer, and the like, while the secondaryreceiver 106B may comprise a smartphone, tablet, or similar device.

Using the secondary receiver 106B, subscribing users 112 may obtainaccess to media programs ultimately supplied by the content providereither from the service provider 104 or directly from the contentprovider. This allows subscribing users 112 to view media programs theyhave subscribed to (either by subscription from the service provider 104or directly with the content provider 102) in remote locations usingmobile devices such as the secondary receiver 106B. The provision ofsuch media programs from the service provider 104 is typically providedvia a service provider application 108A executing on the secondaryreceiver, which can be downloaded from the service provider 104 or thirdparty (e.g. the APPLE STORE) and installed on the secondary receiver106B. Provision of such media programs directly from the contentprovider 102 is provided via a content provider application 108B, whichcan be downloaded from the content provider 102 or third party andinstalled on the secondary receiver 106B.

As described above, when a user 112 desires to receive media programsdirectly from the content provider 102 using the secondary receiver106B, and the user has subscribed to receive the media programs via aservice provider 104 subscription, the user is prompted to enter somekind of identifier or credentials to the content provider to show thatthey are authorized to receive the media program from the contentprovider 102 by virtue of their subscription to a service provider 104providing the same media program. This process typically entailsdownloading and installing the content provider application (CPA) 108Bon the secondary receiver 106B, and using this CPA 108B to providecredentials (typically a user ID or email address and a password)showing that they are a subscriber of the service provider 104. Suchcredentials must typically be pre-arranged with the service provider 104by logging in to a website associated with the service provider 104, andcreating an account using the user credentials.

The user credentials are provided to the service provider 104.Preferably, this is accomplished by the content provider 102 referringthe secondary receiver106B to a login form hosted or controlled by theservice provider 104. The user 112 can enter their credentials on theform, thus providing the credentials to the service provider 104 withoutexposing them to the content provider 102. If the user's credentialsindicate they are authorized to receive the media program by virtue oftheir subscription to the service provider's services, the serviceprovider 104 returns a message to the content provider 102 indicatingthat the user 112 is indeed a subscriber to a package that includes therequested media program (or all media programs from the content provider102). The content provider 102 can use this information to approve theuser's request for access to the media program(s) via the secondaryreceiver 106B.

The referral of the secondary device 106B to the login form of theservice provider 104 can be implemented via a webview commandimplemented by the CPA 108B, for example, by a webview command thatincludes the URL of a login page of the service provider 104. Thereferral may include data identifying the secondary receiver 106B and/orcontent provider 102 so that the service provider 104 is aware to whomto send the foregoing message confirming that the user 112 is anauthorized subscriber.

The referral may also be implemented by an inline frame (IFrame). AnIFrame is an HTML document embedded inside another HTML document on awebsite, that can be used to insert content from another source.

In another embodiment, the user credentials may be provided to thecontent provider 102, who supply such credentials to the user's serviceprovider 104. As described above, the problem with this authorizationtechnique is that (1) it typically requires the user 112 to set up auser account with the service provider 104 to obtain the credentialsthey will provide to the content provider 102 and (2) it requires theuser 112 to remember these credentials and to enter them when promptedby the secondary receiver 106B. While this would seem to be a smallhurdle, it dissuades many users from viewing the content provider'smedia programs on secondary receivers.

As described, the CDS 100 is augmented with an audio recognition service(ARS) 110 that can receive audio information from the secondary receiver(either directly or via the content provider 102) and compare it toaudio information obtained from the service provider 104 and/or thecontent provider 102 and/or local broadcasters as further describedbelow. The ARS 110 may also account for synchronization issues caused bytransmission delays or transmissions in different time zones, using, forexample, time stamping of the audio information received, potentiallyusing a global clock such as that which is available through cellphonenetworks or a global positioning network. This can be accomplished, forexample, by storing a timestamped version of the audio content of thetransmitted first media program (e.g. by including a time stamp witheach data packet of the audio content), time stamping the audio datafrom the secondary receiver 106B (either at the secondary receiver 106Bor upon receipt by the content provider 102), aligning the time stampsto synchronize the audio content and audio data, and comparing the nowsynchronized audio content and audio data.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating exemplary operations that canbe performed to conveniently authorize a secondary receiver 106B toreceive the media program based on a user 112 subscription indicatingthat a primary receiver 106A has been authorized to receive the samemedia program.

In block 202, the content provider 102 provides media program(s) to theservice provider 104. Such provision can be made by wireless or wiredtransmission, or by delivering a physical media having the mediaprogram(s). In block 204, the service provider 104 receives the mediaprogram(s), processes such media program(s), and transmits the processedmedia program(s) to the user's 112 primary receiver 106A forpresentation and viewing by the a user 112 subscribing to the serviceprovider's 104 package that includes the media program(s).

If the user 112 desires to receive one or more of the media programs viaa secondary receiver 106B, the user 112 may obtain the CPA 108B, andinstall this application on the secondary receiver 106B. Using this CPA108B, the user 112 initiates a request to receive at least one mediaprogram that they have subscribed to via the service provider 104 bysending a message to the content provider 102 using the secondaryreceiver, as shown in block 208. This request may include an identifierof the secondary receiver 106B itself (for example, a serial number ofthe secondary receiver that can be read by the CPA 108B) as well aslocation data describing the location of the secondary receiver 106B.This location data may be derived from one or more of a plurality ofdifferent geolocation data sources and techniques. One such geolocationsource is a hardware or software module in the secondary receiver 106Bthat performs global or near-global navigation from passively receivedsignals. One such module may be a global positioning system (GPS) moduleintegrated with the secondary receiver 106B. GPS is a system in whichdata is passively received from satellites in orbit, and the data isused by the GPS module to determine the position of where they arereceived. Another such geolocation source is a cellphone module that maybe included with the secondary receiver 106B. The cellphone moduleperforms the functions necessary to transmit and receive wirelesstelephone calls with one or more wireless networks, and hence, iscapable of determining the identity of each cellphone transmitter itcomes in contact with. Such information does not permit the location ofthe secondary receiver 106B to be determined as accurately as GPS data,but can be used to check or augment GPS data, and is also useful inlocations where a GPS or analogous signal cannot be obtained. Stillanother geolocation source of such information is the second receiver'sIP address used in communicating with the content provider 102. Suchaddress information can be associated with a geographic map, and theapproximate location of the second receiver 106B divined from thisinformation. In one embodiment, particular emphasis is placed on therelationship between the IP address of the primary receiver 106A (ifany) and the secondary receiver 106B, to assure they are reasonablyco-located.

Returning to FIG. 2A, the content provider 102 receives the secondaryreceiver 106B identifying and location data, as shown in block 210. Thecontent provider 102 uses this information to identify service providers104 (otherwise known as and alternatively referred to hereinafter asmultichannel video programming distributors or MVPDs) in thegeographical area of the secondary receiver 106B. For example, thecontent provider may have information that the secondary receiver 106Bis located in an area in which the service providers 104 DIRECTV, DISHNETWORK, and CABLEVISION are providing services to users. Those serviceproviders 104 will then be identified by the content provider 102 inblock 212. The content provider 102 then transmits a request for theuser 112, using the secondary receiver 106B, to select a serviceprovider 104 from among the identified service providers. This requestis in the form of data, which when processed by the secondary receiver106B, causes the secondary receiver 106B to present information on anuser interface to be perceived by the user 112 and to accept a user'schoice of one of the service providers. Block 216 illustrates thereception of the data in the secondary receiver 106B, and block 218illustrates the presentation of the user interface to the user 112.

The user 112 enters their selected service provider 104, and thisinformation is transmitted to the content provider 102, also as shown inblock 218. In block 220, the content provider 102 receives the serviceprovider 104 selection. The content provider 102 then selects at leastone transmission channel (hereinafter alternatively referred to as the“authorizing or authorization channel”) as the basis for authorizing thesecondary receiver 106B.

The selection of a suitable authorizing channel is performed by aservice that has access to information describing the channels ofinformation available at the set of possible locations for given serviceproviders, and maps the location specified by the location informationand selected service provider to a selected one of the availablechannels.

In one embodiment, the selection of the authorization channel includesan analysis of the audio content of candidate authorization channels tofind audio content that is most suitable for authorization purposes. Forexample, the audio content of a particular channel may include spectralor temporal features that make the audio content particularly unique,thus allowing a more accurate or more rapid comparison with expectedaudio content to authorize the secondary receiver 106B.

In this context, “channel” can refer to any allotment of transmissioncapacity that is used to transmit information. For example, channels maybe defined according to frequency (e.g. frequency division multipleaccess or FDMA), time (e.g. time division multiple access or TDMA), code(e.g. code division multiple access or CDMA), IP or multicast address,or any combination of such definitions. The information on theauthorizing channel will be received by the primary receiver 106A,sensed by the secondary receiver 106B, and used to authenticate thesecondary receiver so that it may receive analogous services.

Returning to FIG. 2A, the content provider 102 initiates the authorizedreception of a transmitted first media program having audio content bythe primary receiver. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A, this isaccomplished by transmitting a message to the secondary receiver 106B totune the primary receiver 106A to the selected authorization channel, asshown in block 222. In block 224, the secondary receiver 106B receivesthe message and presents the request to tune the primary receiver 106Ato the authorization channel to the user 112. The primary receiver 106Ais then tuned to the authorization channel, as shown in block 226. Theprimary receiver 106A receives and reproduces the media program beingtransmitted on the authorization channel by the service provider 104. Asthe content of the received media program also includes audio content,the audio content portion of the media program is also reproduced. Thisaudio content portion is received or sensed by the secondary receiver106B (for example, with an integrated microphone used for othersecondary receiver 106B functions). The audio content portion that isreceived or sensed by the secondary receiver 106B is used to generateaudio data that is provided for analysis.

Next, the audio data generated from the received and sensed audiocontent of the media program being transmitted on the authorizationchannel is compared to the audio content of the media programtransmitted by the service provider 104, and this comparison is used todetermine whether reception of the media program or other content fromthe content provider 102 is authorized on the secondary receiver 106B,as shown in block 232. The result of the comparison is transmitted tothe content provider 102, where it is received, as shown in block 240.

The operations required to compare the audio data generated from thesensed audio content with the transmitted audio content and decidewhether to authorize reception of content from the content provider 102can be performed by different combinations of the entities illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2.

In a first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A, this is accomplished bytransmitting the audio data generated from the sensed audio content tothe content provider 102 using the CPA 108B, which in turn provides thereceived audio data to the ARS 110. The audio recognition service 110also accepts the audio content of the transmitted media program from theservice provider 104 (e.g. by dedicated transmission from the serviceprovider 104 or by use of am authorized device analogous to the primaryreceiver 106A), and compares them to determine if the audio datagenerated from the audio content reproduced by the primary receiver 106Aand sensed by the secondary receiver 106B matches the audio contenttransmitted by the service provider 104.

As no processing is instantaneous and no reproduction is lossless, it isimportant that the ARS 110 account for delays and distortion in thetransmission, reception and processing of both signals (from thesecondary receiver 106B and from the service provider 104) having theaudio content. For example, delays and distortions inherent to (1) thereception and processing of the signal having the audio content from theservice provider 104, (2) the reproduction of the audio content by theprimary receiver 106A, (3) the sensing of the audio content by thesecondary receiver 106B and generation of audio data therefrom, and (4)the transmission of the sensed audio content to the ADS 110 should allbe considered. Likewise, any delays and distortions inherent to thetransmission, processing, and reception of the audio content directlyfrom the service provider 104 must be considered.

Such delays and distortions can be predictable or largely stochastic innature. Predictable delays can be accounted for by time-shifting one orboth of the signals with the audio content by a known amount determinedfrom the predicted delay values. For example, if the service provider104 is known to insert a delay of X seconds before transmitting themedia program, no delay need be accounted for, because the delay willaffect both the signal received directly from the service provider 104and from the secondary receiver 106B as sensed by the primary receiver.However, if the transmission paths are of different length (e.g. theprimary receiver 106A receives the signal from the service provider 104via satellite 109, but the ARS 110 receives the signal from the serviceprovider 104 via internet transmission) or if the primary receiver 106Ais known to add a delay of Y seconds before reproducing the audioportion of the signal, such delays are predictable and may be accountedfor. If the primary receiver 106A processing is known to differ fordifferent models (or for that matter, the processing of the secondaryreceiver 106B in transmitting the audio portion to the ARS 110 differ bymodel), such differences may be predictable and simply accounted for.

Stochastic (and predictable) delays can be reduced by time-tagging thedata received by the secondary receiver 106B to a global time standard.This global time standard may be a GPS clock or a clock available fromthe cellphone subsystem of the secondary receiver 106B. The ARS 110 canuse the time-tags to temporally align the audio content received fromthe secondary receiver 106B and the service provider 104, to determineif the audio content from each is matched sufficiently to justify areasonable conclusion that the audio content received from the secondaryreceiver was ultimately obtained from a the user's authorized primaryreceiver 106A.

In another embodiment, the secondary receiver 106B transmits the sensedaudio data directly to the ARS 110 (instead of transmitting the data tothe ARS 110 via the content provider 102).

In a further embodiment, the ARS 110 is integrated with the contentprovider 102 (e.g. it does not comprise a separate entity).

In still another embodiment, the processing completed to compare theaudio of the audio content received directly from the service provider104 and the audio received by the primary receiver 106A and sensed bythe secondary receiver 106B is shared between the secondary receiver106B and the ARS 110 or content provider 102. For example, instead oftransmitting the audio data generated from the sensed audio contentitself, the CPA 108B executing on the secondary receiver 106B mayperform an analysis of the audio data, and transmit the result of theanalysis to the ARS 110 or content provider 102. Such analysis may bethe result of a temporally varying spectral analysis of the generatedaudio data (e.g. a Fourier transform), and may include only Fourier orsimilar coefficients. The ARS 110 or content provider 102 may perform asimilar analysis of a portion of the audio content from the serviceprovider 104 and attempt to match the resulting coefficients for asliding time window to account for processing or transmission delays.

In yet another embodiment, the CPA 108B of the secondary receiver 106Bperforms the operations of the ARS 110. This can be implemented in asystem wherein the content provider 102 receives the media program fromthe service provider 104 on the selected authorization channel, andtransmits the audio portion of the media program transmitted by theservice provider 104 on the authorization channel and received by thecontent provider 102 from the content provider 102 to the secondaryreceiver 106B for analysis and comparison using the CPA 108B.

In one embodiment, the determination as to whether reception of themedia program or other content from the content provider 102 is to beauthorized on the second receiver 106B also examines whether thesecondary device is located at an approved location.

FIG. 2B is a diagram further illustrating this feature. In block 242,the content provider 102 determines whether the secondary receiver 106Bis in an approved location. This can be determined, for example, usingthe location data and ID received in block 210 of FIG. 2A. If thesecondary receiver 106B is in an approved location (as determined byblock 244), reception of the media programs from the content provider102 by the secondary receiver 106B is authorized, and an enablingmessage is transmitted to the secondary receiver 106B as shown in block248. In block 252, that information is received by the secondaryreceiver 106B and used to receive the media programs. The enablingmessage may include digital certificates, encryption keys, or otherinformation required by the secondary receiver 106B to receive, decode,and decrypt the media programs from the content provider. Alternatively,the content provider 102 may simply provide the secondary receiver 106Bwith information required to retrieve the required media programs fromthe content provider 102 (for example, a URL or multicast internetprotocol address). Similarly, if the secondary receiver is not in anapproved location (as determined by block 244), reception of the mediaprograms by the secondary receiver 106B is denied, and a messageindicating as such may be transmitted to the secondary receiver 106Bwhere it is received, as shown in blocks 246 and 250.

The selection of the authorization channel depicted in block 220 of FIG.2A may be practiced in several embodiments. Since the method uses thereception of the content over the authorization channel by the primaryreceiver 106A as a proxy for confirming that the user 112 (or user'sprimary receiver 106A) is entitled to receive the media program usingthe secondary receiver 106B, it desirable that whatever media program isreceived over the authorization channel may only be synchronouslyreceived by authorized users 112 or authorized primary receivers 106A.For example, if an authorization channel was selected that included abroadcast of a media program commonly available on a non-subscription(free) basis at the location of the secondary receiver 106B, a user 112could simply tune the primary receiver to that broadcast channel andprovide the same audio to the content provider 102. This audio may beobtained whether the user 112 subscribes to the service provider 104 ornot, and if synchronous with the audio reproduced by the primaryreceiver 106A receiving the media program, may be indistinguishable fromthat which would have been provided by an authorized service provider104 to which the user 112 subscribes. Hence, in one embodiment, theauthorization channel selected by the content provider 102 excludes anytransmission channel that is transmitting a media program that isavailable over the air using a free or non-subscribed network.

In one embodiment, the content provider 102 changes the authenticationchannel for a given location of the secondary receiver 106B so that itis not the same each time the authentication is attempted. This makes itharder for an authorized user 112 to conspire with unauthorized users toauthenticate multiple devices in the vicinity. In another embodiment,when one or more other secondary receivers 106B requesting authorizationare in the same geographical region, an authorization channel isassigned to each requesting secondary receiver 106B.

The content provider 102 may also transmit the authentication channelinformation to the secondary receiver 106B and receive the audioinformation (as discussed below) in a secure session keyed to anidentifier of the secondary receiver 106B, thus pairing the transmissionof the authorization channel and the reception of the audio content. Forexample, if a user 112 is a subscriber to a service provider 104 that isbroadcasting a particular media program ultimately provided by thecontent provider 102, and the user 112 is in a room with multiple otherusers that are not subscribers to the service provider 104, otherpersons in the room may tune their own secondary receivers 106B toreceive the audio from the primary receiver 106A and transmit thereceived audio to the content provider 102. However, those other usersmust have previously transmitted valid service provider 104 credentialsto the content provider 102, otherwise, the content provider will notassociate the received audio data with that particular secondaryreceiver 106B. Audio data received without an ID and location or audiodata received with the same ID and location as a recently received IDand location can be identified by the content provider as fraudulent.

Further, in one embodiment, selected authorization channels are limitedto linear 24/7 cable channels such as ESPN. In this case, off the air(OTA) broadcast channels and channels transmitting other regionalbroadcasts may eliminated from the pool of acceptable authorizationchannels, as it would be difficult to authenticate the device because ofextensive time delays involved among regional broadcasts. In anotherembodiment, regional broadcasts during prime time may still be used inembodiments wherein the audio recognition service 110 receives audioinformation from the service provider 104 and secondary receiver 106Bthat are sufficiently time tagged to allow them to be correlated whenappropriate. Regional broadcasts during non-prime time hours may also beselected for the authorization channel if the audio recognition service110 receives information from that local broadcaster.

In still another embodiment, the audio content of a sequence ofauthorization channels is utilized for authorization purposes. In thisembodiment, the message instructing the tuning of the primary receiverto the authorization channel (depicted in block 222) instructs thetuning of a sequence of authorization channels, with the audio contentof each of the sequence of audio channels being sensed and compared tothe audio content of the sequence of channels. This embodiment takesadvantage of the fact that the sequence of channels transmitted by anyparticular service provider is typically different than every otherservice provider, even if both service providers ultimately mighttransmit the same media program at the same time. For example if a firstservice provider 104 transmits a media program on channel 100 and asecond service provider 104 transmits the same media program on channel202 at the same time (synchronously), that information might be used byan individual to authorize reception using the secondary receiver 106Bby merely turning to channel 202 of the second service provider 104 (towhich the user has authorized access) instead of channel 100 from thefirst service provider (to which the user does not have authorizedaccess). However, if a sequence of channels is used, the primaryreceiver 106A may be directed to be tuned to channels 100, 101 and 102,of the first service provider 104, and it is unlikely that the secondservice provider 104 will broadcast the same media programs on anysequence of channels (e.g. channels 202, 203, and 204). The messageinstructing the tuning of the primary receiver 106A to the sequence ofchannels may also be provided directly to the primary receiver 106A, sothat the sequence of channels is automatically tuned. This may beimplemented, for example, by including, within the secondary receiver106B (for example, by including the functionality in the CPA 108B), thecapability to command the primary receiver 106A to the authorizationchannel(s) described in the message provided in block 222 of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a progression of auser interface presented by one or more screens on a display deviceintegrated with or comprising the secondary receiver 106B. Screen 302 isa home screen of the CPA 108B installed on the secondary receiver 106B.After the home screen 302 is displayed, a login screen 304 is displayedby the CPA 108B. The login screen 304 allows the user 112 to log in tothe remote playback service by entering a suitable credential, or tosign up for the remote playback service. In the illustrated embodiment,the login screen 304 comprises a first input field 308 for the user 112to enter a username, email address, or other identifier, and an inputfield 310 for the user to enter a password. These input fields may beused by users 112 who have already signed up for the remote playbackservices to login.

If the user 112 is not signed up for the remote playback service, theymay select control 311, and they will be directed to a screen (notillustrated) which requests that the user 112 enters a user identifierand password, so that they may log in to the service in the future.Control 306 allows the user 112 to log in via a social network loginsuch as FACEBOOK or TWITTER using the user's credentials for that socialnetwork. If there is no existing remote playback service (RPS) ID forthe user 112, one is created, and the user 112 is requested to enteradditional information such as their email address. If there is anexisting RPS ID for the user, another ID may be created, or theinformation entered by the user may be merged with the previous ID. Thisinformation, along with the IP address of the secondary playback device106B and secondary playback device ID is stored for future use.

In any case, whether by signing up for remote playback service oflogging in to the remote playback service via entered username andpassword or social network, the entered information is transmitted tothe content provider 102 via the CPA 108B, and if the user's logincredentials are valid, the content provider 102 transmits data to thesecondary receiver 106B via the CPA 108B to present welcome screen 312.Welcome screen 312 gives the user 112 the choice of either accepting atrial of the remote playback service for a limited period of time (asillustrated, 24 hours) or to verify that the user 112 of the secondaryreceiver 106B is an authorized subscriber to the content of the contentprovider 102 via their subscription to an authorized service provider104. If the user selects the control 316 with the time-limitedsubscription, the CPA 108B transmits that selection to the contentprovider 102, which authorizes a limited time subscription to the remoteplayback service, and transmits messages and data to the CPA 108Bpermitting the user 112 to view such media programs for a limited time,for example, using playback screen 332, and allowing the user tocommence playback of a media program by selecting play control 334.

If the user selects control 314 to verify the user's subscription to aservice provider 104 that offers the media programs and other contentsupplied by the content provider 102, the user is presented with screen318. Screen 318 includes a first control 320, which causes the CPA 108Bto present screen 324. Screen 324 is a service provider credential entryscreen that permits the user to enter the identify of the serviceprovider 104 the user is subscribed to, and the user's credentials forthat service provider 104, using username input field 326 and passwordinput field 328. That information is transmitted to the content provider102, to confirm that the user 112 is indeed a subscriber to that serviceprovider 104. As described above, this is typically accomplished byforwarding the entered credentials to the service provider 104 chosen bythe user 112, and receiving a confirmation from that service provider104 that the user 112 is a subscriber to a service package of thatservice provider 104 that includes the media programs supplied by thecontent provider 102. If the user 112 is confirmed as a subscriber tothe selected service provider 104, decision logic 330 directs the CPA108B to present screen 332, and the secondary device 106B is providedmedia programs and other content from the content provider 102. If theuser 112 is not confirmed as a subscriber to the selected serviceprovider, processing is passed to block 336, which offers the user toeither try the subscriber package for a limited time (by selectingcontrol 338) or to subscribe indefinitely, by selecting control 340. Ifeither control 338 or 340 is selected, the interface presents screen332.

As described above, the foregoing presumes that the user 112 has takenthe step of creating a user account with the service provider 104 andremembers those credentials. Screen 318 also comprises a second controlthat allows the user 112 to authenticate the secondary receiver 106Bwithout entering such credentials, so long as they are near enough inthe vicinity to their primary receiver 106A to receive an audio signal.This automatic audio (autoaudio) authentication process is selected byselecting control 322. Selection of control 322 transmits an identifierof the secondary receiver 106B or identifier of the CPA 108B and datadescribing the location of the secondary receiver 106B to the contentprovider 102.

The content provider 102 may then transmit data to the CPA 108B of thesecondary receiver 106B that prompts the user to enter the identity ofthe user's service provider 104. Using that information and the locationof the secondary receiver 106B, the content provider selects anauthorization channel as described above, and sends data to thesecondary receiver 106B implementing screen 342. Screen 342 includesinformation instructing the user to tune to the authorization channelselected by the content provider 102, and a control that commands thesecondary receiver 106B to activate a microphone to begin sensing theaudio content of the media program being currently transmitted by theselected service provider 104 and received by the user's primaryreceiver 106A. The audio content is sensed by the secondary receiver106B, and compared to the audio content transmitted by the serviceprovider, as shown in logic 346. As described above, such operations maybe performed by the secondary receiver 106B, the ARS 110, or the contentprovider 102, or any combination thereof.

If the comparison demonstrates that the audio content received directlyfrom the service provider 104 and the audio content received via theprimary receiver 106A and secondary receiver 106B sufficiently match,the content provider 102 authorizes the secondary receiver 106B toreceive (and reproduce) media programs from the content provider 102.This can be implemented by transmitting a suitable key or credential tothe CPA 108B executing on the secondary receiver 106B. Screen 332(previously described) is then provided.

If the audio check is unsuccessful, screen 348 is presented by the CPA108B of the secondary receiver 106B. Screen 348 includes a retry control352, which routes processing back to screen 342 to allow the user toretry the autoaudio authentication process. Screen 348 also includes acontrol allowing the user 112 to selectably return to manually providingthe credentials of their service provider 104 using screen 324.

Returning to screen 342, in addition to offering autoaudioauthentication, the user 112 may also select control 302, which providesscreen 358. Screen 358 queries the user 112 regarding whether they wouldlike to become a subscriber for remote playback by entering thecredentials of their service provider 104 (and hence, no longer requireoccasional autoaudio authentication). If the user 112 selects control360, they are referred to screen 324.

Collectively, the user interface presented in the foregoing screensallows the user to use autoaudio authentication, but inserts options inthe path of the process, giving the user the opportunity to authenticatethe secondary receiver 106B by the typical process of providing apassword.

In one embodiment, the foregoing “autoaudio” authentication processdescribed above authorizes the secondary receiver 106B to receive mediaprograms from the content provider 102 only for a limited time period (aperiod time much less than the user 112 is likely to remain a subscriberto the service provider 104 . . . a typical value being in the order ofa week or a month). In this embodiment, the user 112 is permitted to usethe remote playback service to become acquainted with its advantages,and is thereafter more willing to become a permanent registrant for theservice by entering the credentials as illustrated in interface 324. Theuser 112 may also be limited to a particular number of sessionsauthorized via audio recognition.

While the foregoing operations have been described in terms of usingaudio data to authorize reception of the one or more media programs bythe secondary receiver based upon reception of at least one of the mediaprograms by a primary receiver, other embodiments are within the scopeof this disclosure. For example, video data, image data, or audio andvideo data may be used for the same purpose. Accordingly, in thisdisclosure, the audio content and audio data may be more broadlydescribed as video content, video data, image content, or image data, asappropriate without loss of generality.

For example, after the primary receiver 106A is tuned to theauthorization channel and begins receiving and reproducing thetransmitted first media program, the secondary receiver 106B may be usedto sense the reproduced transmitted media program (e.g. with a videocamera included with or communicatively coupled to the secondaryreceiver 106B) and generate video data that is compared to video data ofthe transmitted first media program, much the same way that the audiodata is compared in the earlier described embodiments. This generatedvideo data may also be used in conjunction with the audio datapreviously described, thus permitting a more accurate and/or rapidauthorization of the secondary receiver 106B. Embodiments using one ormore single frame images are also envisioned. For example, after theprimary receiver 106A is tuned to the authorization channel and beginsreceiving and reproducing the transmitted first media program, thesecondary receiver 106B may be used to take one or more photographicimages of the reproduced transmitted media program (e.g. with a cameraincluded with or communicatively coupled to the secondary receiver 106B)and generate image data that is compared to video data of thetransmitted first media program, much the same way that the audio datais compared in the earlier described embodiments. The image data may betime-tagged to indicate the precise moment when the photograph wastaken, and the time-tagged image data compared with image data fromcorresponding times taken from the media program transmitted by theservice provider 104 to determine whether to authorize the secondaryreceiver. Image data may also be used in conjunction with the audio datapreviously described.

In another embodiment, the foregoing authentication process forms a partof a user 112 scoring index associated with a user identifier (ID) basedon user activity and other available information. This user scoringindex is used to allow or revoke access to content from the contentprovider 102. Such variables may include the user's internet serviceprovider (ISP) history, social networking IDs, Internet protocol (IP)connection history, or other factors. Such information can be obtainedand managed for each secondary receiver 106B associated with the userID.

Hardware Environment

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a primary receiver 106A such asan IRD. The IRD 106A includes a tuner 400, a transport anddemultiplexing module (TDM) 402 that operates under the control of amicrocontroller 404 to perform transport, demultiplexing, decryption andencryption functions, a source decoder 406, random access memory (RAM)408, external interfaces 410, user I/O 412, a conditional access module(CAM) 414, and conditional access verifier (CAV) 416.

The tuner 400 receives the data packets from an antenna or cable andprovides the packets to the TDM 402. Using the IDs associated with theprogram materials, the TDM 402 and microcontroller 404 reassemble thedata packets according to the channel selected by the subscriber andindicated by the user I/O 412, and decrypt the program materials.

Once the program materials have been decrypted, they are provided to thesource decoder 406, which decodes the program materials according toMPEG or other standards as appropriate. The decoded program materialsmay be stored in the RAM 408 or provided to devices coupled to the IRD106A via the external interfaces 410, wherein the devices coupled to theIRD 106A can include or a media storage device 418, such as a diskdrive, a presentation device 420, such as a monitor, a networked device,such as another IRD 106A.

The CAM 414 is typically implemented in a smartcard or similar device,which is provided to the subscriber to be inserted into the IRD 106A.The CAM 414 interfaces with the CAV 416 and the TDM 402 to verify thatthe IRD 106A is entitled to access the program materials.

In one embodiment including a plurality of networked IRDs 106A, one ofthe IRDs 106A is designated a “host IRD” (or host device) and each ofthe other IRDs are designated as a “client IRD” (or client device). Insuch an embodiment, the host IRD 106A includes all of the componentsdescribed in FIG. 4, while the client IRDs 106A may not include thetuner 400, CAM 414, CAV 416, disk drive 418, or other components, inorder to reduce the cost of the client IRD 106A. The client IRD 106A canbe used to request program materials that are received or reproduced bythe host IRD 106A, thus allowing program materials to be reproduced atother locations in the home.

However, in this embodiment, there is no master-slave relationship, andall IRDs 106A have the capability to decrypt the program materials.Moreover, the host and client IRDs 106A share the CW by means of apairing key (PK) that is generated by the service provider for thepurposes of allowing each IRD 106A to decrypt the program materials.Consequently, this allows for the distribution of broadcast contentbetween a host IRD 106A and one or more client IRDs 106A for remotedecryption and viewing.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary secondary receiver 106B. In theillustrated embodiment, the secondary receiver 106B is evidenced by asmartphone or similar device, and comprises an applications processor502 communicatively coupled to a memory 504 storing instructions forperforming applications processor 502 functions. The applicationsprocessor is also communicatively coupled to a display 506 to providevisual output to the user 112 and to accept user 112 input, for examplevia touch screen operations on the display 506. The applicationsprocessor can execute, for example, the CPA 108B.

The applications processor 502 is also communicatively coupled to anaudio subsystem 508, an inertial sensor subsystem 510, a camerasubsystem 512, an auxiliary communications subsystem 514 and a cellularcommunications subsystem 516. Each of these subsystems may also includea special purpose processor communicatively coupled to an associatedmemory for performing the functions allocated to that subsystem.

The audio subsystem 508 typically comprises one or more microphones andspeakers, and is used to provide audio information to the applicationsprocessor 502 and receive processed audio data and information andaurally reproduce this data for the user 112 to hear. Typically, theaudio subsystem also includes a codec (encoder/decoder) which encodesaudio signals for analysis and transmission and decodes encoded audiosignals for reproduction, with such codecs being implemented using thespecial purpose processor of the audio subsystem. Alternatively, suchcodecs can be implemented by the applications processor 502.

The inertial sensor subsystem 510 may include rate sensors such as gyrosand/or linear force sensors such as accelerometers. These inertialsensors can be used to determine the location and orientation of thesecondary receiver 106B.

The camera subsystem 512 includes a lens and visual sensor that can beused to take photographs or videos.

The auxiliary communications subsystem 514 may include a Bluetoothtransceiver, WiFi transceiver, and/or Global Positioning System (GPS)receiver. The Bluetooth transceiver permits the secondary receiver 106Bto exchange data with a remote device so that the remote device or thesecondary receiver 106B can exchange data and commands. Similarly, theWiFi transceiver allows the secondary receiver 106B to exchange data andcommands with external entities such as other WiFi equipped systems, andmay provide the secondary receiver 106B with access to Internetcommunications. The GPS receiver and system permits the secondaryreceiver 106B to precisely determine its location from GPS satellitetransmissions.

The cellular subsystem 516 allows the secondary receiver 106B totransceive telephone calls, text messages, and to transmit and receiveinformation via the Internet by 3G, LTE or similar modem implementedtherein. Typically, cellular communications comprise a communicationprotocol in which the secondary receiver 106B and a cellphone towerwirelessly communicate with each other for command/control and datatransfer purposes, and the location of such cellphone tower may be usedto determine the approximate geographical location of the secondaryreceiver 106B.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system 600 that could beused to implement elements of the present invention, including theprimary receiver 106A, the secondary receiver 106B, and computer systemsimplementing the functionality of the service provider 104, ARS 110, andcontent provider 102. That system comprises a processing device 602which comprises a general purpose hardware processor 604A and/or aspecial purpose hardware processor 604B (hereinafter alternativelycollectively referred to as processor 604) and a memory 606, such asrandom access memory (RAM). The computer 602 may be coupled to otherdevices, including input/output (I/O) devices such as a keyboard 614, amouse device 616 and a printer 628.

In one embodiment, the processing device 602 operates by the generalpurpose processor 604A performing instructions defined by the computerprogram 610 under control of an operating system 608. The computerprogram 610 and/or the operating system 608 may be stored in the memory606 and may interface with the user and/or other devices to accept inputand commands and, based on such input and commands and the instructionsdefined by the computer program 610 and operating system 608 to provideoutput and results.

Output/results may be presented on the display 622 or provided toanother device for presentation or further processing or action. In oneembodiment, the display 622 comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD)having a plurality of separately addressable pixels formed by liquidcrystals. Each pixel of the display 622 changes to an opaque ortranslucent state to form a part of the image on the display in responseto the data or information generated by the processor 604 from theapplication of the instructions of the computer program 610 and/oroperating system 608 to the input and commands. Other display 622 typesalso include picture elements that change state in order to create theimage presented on the display 622. The image may be provided through agraphical user interface (GUI) module 618A. Although the GUI module 618Ais depicted as a separate module, the instructions performing the GUIfunctions can be resident or distributed in the operating system 608,the computer program 610, or implemented with special purpose memory andprocessors.

Some or all of the operations performed by the processing device 602according to the computer program 610 instructions may be implemented ina special purpose processor 604B. In this embodiment, some or all of thecomputer program 610 instructions may be implemented via firmwareinstructions stored in a read only memory (ROM), a programmable readonly memory (PROM) or flash memory within the special purpose processor604B or in memory 606. The special purpose processor 604B may also behardwired through circuit design to perform some or all of theoperations to implement the present invention. Further, the specialpurpose processor 604B may be a hybrid processor, which includesdedicated circuitry for performing a subset of functions, and othercircuits for performing more general functions such as responding tocomputer program instructions. In one embodiment, the special purposeprocessor is an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

The processing device 602 may also implement a compiler 612 which allowsan application program 610 written in a programming language such asCOBOL, C++, FORTRAN, or other language to be translated into processor604 readable code. After completion, the application or computer program610 accesses and manipulates data accepted from I/O devices and storedin the memory 606 of the processing device 602 using the relationshipsand logic that was generated using the compiler 612.

The processing device 602 also optionally comprises an externalcommunication device such as a modem, satellite link, Ethernet card, orother device for accepting input from and providing output to othercomputers.

In one embodiment, instructions implementing the operating system 608,the computer program 610, and/or the compiler 612 are tangibly embodiedin a computer-readable medium, e.g., data storage device 620, whichcould include one or more fixed or removable data storage devices, suchas a zip drive, floppy disc drive 624, hard drive, CD-ROM drive, tapedrive, or a flash drive. Further, the operating system 608 and thecomputer program 610 are comprised of computer program instructionswhich, when accessed, read and executed by the processing device 602,causes the processing device 602 to perform the steps necessary toimplement and/or use the present invention or to load the program ofinstructions into a memory, thus creating a special purpose datastructure causing the computer to operate as a specially programmedcomputer executing the method steps described herein. Computer program610 and/or operating instructions may also be tangibly embodied inmemory 606 and/or data communications devices 630, thereby making acomputer program product or article of manufacture according to theinvention. As such, the terms “article of manufacture,” “program storagedevice” and “computer program product” or “computer readable storagedevice” as used herein are intended to encompass a computer programaccessible from any computer readable device or media.

Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that any combinationof the above components, or any number of different components,peripherals, and other devices, may be used with the processing device602.

Although the term “computer” or “processing device” is referred toherein, it is understood that the computer may include portable devicessuch as cellphones, smartphones, laptops, tablet computers, portable MP3players, video game consoles, notebook computers, pocket computers, orany other device with suitable processing, communication, andinput/output capability.

CONCLUSION

This concludes the description of the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention. In summary, the present invention describes a method,apparatus, and article of manufacture. The foregoing description of thepreferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for thepurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited notby this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of authorizing reception of one or moremedia programs of a content provider by a secondary receiver based uponreception of a first media program of the one or more media programs bya primary receiver, comprising: receiving location data from thesecondary receiver; initiating authorized reception of a transmission ofthe first media program by the primary receiver, the transmission of thefirst media program having media content; receiving media data from thesecondary receiver, the media data generated from the media content ofthe first media program reproduced by the primary receiver and sensed bythe secondary receiver; and authorizing reception of the one or moremedia programs of the content provider by the secondary receiveraccording to the received location data and a comparison of the mediadata received from the secondary receiver and the media content of thetransmission of the first media program.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the first media program is received in real time by anauthorized primary receiver from an authorized service provider of theone or more media programs of the content provider.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the step of initiating authorized reception of thetransmission of the first media program having media content by theprimary receiver comprises: transmitting a message instructing thereception of the media content of the first media program by the primaryreceiver.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the message instructs tuningthe primary receiver to an authorization channel of the authorizedservice provider, wherein the first media program is transmitted on theauthorization channel.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theauthorization channel is determined according to the received locationdata.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the authorized channel specifiedin the transmitted message differs for other secondary receivers in ageographical region determined from the received location data.
 7. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the transmitted first media program is notsynchronously transmitted on a non-subscription basis.
 8. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the message is transmitted to the secondary receiverand presented by the secondary receiver.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein: the message further instructs the tuning of the primaryreceiver to a sequence of authorization channels; the reception of theone or more programs of the content provider by the secondary receiveris authorized according to the received location data and a comparisonof the media data received from the secondary receiver and the mediacontent of further media programs transmitted on the sequence ofauthorization channels.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the locationdata is generated at least in part from at least one of: location dataderived from a global positioning satellite (GPS) system; location dataderived from a network address of the secondary receiver; and locationdata of a cellphone transmitter.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thestep of receiving location data from the secondary receiver comprisesthe step of commanding the secondary receiver to transmit the locationdata.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of authorizingreception of the one or more programs of the content provider by thesecondary receiver according to the received location data and acomparison of the media data received from the secondary receiver andthe media content of the transmitted first media program comprises:determining if the secondary device is located in an approved locationaccording to the received location data; comparing the received mediadata to the media content of the transmitted first media program; andauthorizing the reception of the one or more programs of the contentprovider if the secondary receiver is located in the approved locationand the received media data sufficiently matches the media content ofthe transmitted first media program.
 13. The method of claim 12, whereinthe step of authorizing the reception of the one or more programs of thecontent provider if the secondary receiver is located in the approvedlocation and the received media data sufficiently matches the mediacontent of the transmitted first media program comprises: storing atimestamped version of the media content of the transmitted first mediaprogram; and comparing the stored timestamped version of the mediacontent of the transmitted first media program with a timestampedversion of the received media data.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereinthe received media data of the media program is timestamped by thesecondary receiver before reception.
 15. The method of claim 13, whereinthe received audio content of the media program is timestamped afterreception.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorizing of thereception self expires after a period of time.
 17. The method of claim1, wherein the media content comprises audio content and the media datacomprises audio data.
 18. An apparatus for authorizing reception of oneor more media programs of a content provider by a secondary receiverbased upon reception of the media program by a primary receiver,comprising: a processor, communicatively coupled to a memory, the memorystoring instructions comprising instructions for instructing theprocessor to: receive location data from the secondary receiver;initiate authorized reception of a transmission of the first mediaprogram by the primary receiver, the transmission of the first mediaprogram having media content; receive media data from the secondaryreceiver, the media data generated from the media content of the firstmedia program reproduced by the primary receiver and sensed by thesecondary receiver; and authorize reception of the one or more mediaprograms of the content provider by the secondary receiver according tothe received location data and a comparison of the media data receivedfrom the secondary receiver and the media content of the transmission ofthe first media program.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein thefirst media program is received in real time by an authorized viewerfrom an authorized service provider of the one or more media programs ofthe content provider.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein theinstructions for instructing the processor to authorize reception of theone or more programs of the content provider by the secondary receiveraccording to the received location data and a comparison of the audiodata received from the secondary receiver and the audio content of thetransmitted first media program further comprise instructions forinstructing the processor to: determine if the secondary device islocated in an approved location according to the received location data;compare the received media data to the media content of the transmittedfirst media program; and authorize the reception of the one or moreprograms of the content provider if the secondary receiver is located inthe approved location and the received media data sufficiently matchesthe media content of the transmitted first media program.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein the instructions commanding the processorto authorize the reception of the one or more programs of the contentprovider if the secondary receiver is located in the approved locationand the received audio data sufficiently matches the audio content ofthe transmitted first media program further comprise instructions forinstructing the processor to: store a timestamped version of the mediacontent of the transmitted first media program; and compare the storedtimestamped version of the media content of the transmitted first mediaprogram with a timestamped version of the received media data.
 22. Amethod of authorizing reception of one or more media programs of acontent provider by a secondary receiver based upon reception of a firstmedia program of the one or more media programs by a primary receiver,comprising: sensing, with the secondary receiver, media content of afirst media program that is received and reproduced by the primaryreceiver; generating media data from the sensed media content of thefirst media program; and transmitting the media data from the secondaryreceiver; wherein the reception of the one or more media programs of thecontent provider by the secondary receiver is authorized according to acomparison of the transmitted media data and the media content of thefirst media program.